Blue goes for sweet victory over Wildcats to stop slide

The Michigan volleyball team hopes for more than a Hallmark holiday this Saturday as it searches for its sweetest victory of the season against Northwestern (0-6 Big Ten, 2-14 overall).

The Wolverines (2-5, 10-6) are in search of something new, something different, something a little more credible than what's given them their dubious Big Ten record.

Michigan's number one concern this season has been to focus on its side of the net - which worked during the non-conference season as they recorded eight wins and only one loss.

Then, as Michigan hit the Big Ten schedule, it has proven once again that what happens during non-conference play is meaningless - the teams in the other conferences are mere puppy dogs in comparison to the "big dogs" in the Big Ten.

And if you can't play with the big dogs, you'd better sit in the stands.

"Every team that we've seen (in the Big Ten) so far has been the same caliber as the teams that we saw during (nonconference)," Michigan assistant coach Leisa Rosen said. "That says a lot for the Big Ten. We were expecting it to be a little rocky the first way through the first half of the Big Ten because we haven't seen the teams before from a new coaching standpoint. The team really hasn't either because they're new players."

The Wolverines are doing their best to refrain from a repeat of last season, where they were only able to muster two wins in the Big Ten despite their successful 8-2 non-conference record.

And although the Big Ten has consistently left Michigan spinning in circles, it's not over yet.

"It's not like we're throwing our hands up in the air and saying we're done," Leisa Rosen said. "We just need to get better. The biggest thing is we need to get more consistent."

Michigan coach Mark Rosen said there aren't any clear-cut answers as to where the inconsistency came about.

"It's intangible," Mark Rosen said. "When you're trying to put something together so it runs well - like a watch or a machine - every piece needs to fit together. There has to be some experimentation."

Michigan has been relying on experimentation since, well ... practically all season long. It just can't seem to find its groove, its niche - its winning lineup.

"We're trying to find stability," Mark Rosen said. "We're trying different lineups so that we can get better continuity, a better personality, a better dynamic within the team. We need to find the group of people that fit the best, and it's not always going to be the most physical players."

So the Wolverines took a chance on an unknown kid and low and behold, they've found something, or someone that fits the mold they've been so desperately trying to create.

The 5-foot-10 redshirt freshman middle blocker that goes by the name of Katrina Lehman.

Before the unpredictable loss to Michigan State on Wednesday night, Lehman led the team in attacks with a .365 average.

Then, in East Lansing during game two alone, she averaged .833 - better than anybody on either team.

"We gave (Katrina) an opportunity to play," Mark Rosen said. "She fits well, she's adding aggression, and she's real fearless when she plays. She's worked hard to put herself in the position to play as well as she is playing."

Michigan cannot afford to take Northwestern with a grain of salt. The players and the coaches know that, regardless of the team's record, that anyone in the Big Ten can win on any given night.

10-15-99